Day by Day/Mall Cop
John Brannon sat cowering in the dark. Hands clenched tightly around the grip of his M6A pistol, his eyes squeezed shut, pushing the sounds he heard inside and outside of his mind as far from him as possible. He hadn’t asked for this, anything but this. He was a mall cop, not a soldier. The network vids had all said we were winning, that the Covenant couldn’t touch an inner colony world. But the ship, the huge alien ship, had appeared in the sky and started landing troops. Hulking Elites, vicious Jackals, the Brutes . . . massive apes. John couldn’t have protected those people, he had to hide. Hide as their screams tormented him, alone in the dark. He had been here for hours, trembling. Something moved outside, and John whimpered. He clicked the safety off his pistol and bit his lip, ready to fire. The door opened and a shaft of light blinded him, and he recoiled in his corner. “Hey, you alright?” A voice asked. A human voice. A man in green marine armor stood over him, a heavy assault rifle in his hands. John shook, but managed to nod. “Then let’s get you out of here.” The marine grasped his shoulder and got him up, and out of the small room. John blinked as he got his vision back, and saw two soldiers with the rifles held firmly. They were haggard from lack of sleep and plain battle fatigue, and the one who helped him up had a bandage around his head under his helmet. A woman with dark hair and a frightened look stood near the other, a young girl held close. “I’m Private Shields.” The marine stated. “This is Private Clark, and these ladies are Susan and Elizabeth. You got a name?” “John.” He said meekly, safetying his pistol. “Where . . . what happened to everybody else?” The man cocked his head. “You mean anyone else who was here? Brutes came through here, killed everyone they found. We’re headed for an evac station a couple blocks from here. Feel like living a while longer?” John nodded. “Then let’s go.” Their small band walked out into the streets. The Covenant attack had done a lot of damage to the city. Building facades crumbled where they were hit by plasma mortars or tungsten shells. The debris fell into the street into piles of rubble, and more than a few places, someone human or alien had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Okay, I’ll take point. Clark, get the rear.” Shields said, moving forward. The mother and child kept close behind him, and John followed them with the other marine walking behind him. It was the longest couple of blocks he had ever had to walk. Covenant still patrolled the air, Banshees high overhead made them nervous. More than once, the sound of a cruising Spirit dropship made them stop and duck behind a car, but they never saw any of the Covenant on the ground. John felt a tug on his shirt. “Mister, are you a hero?” The little girl asked, her eyes looking up at him curiously. John paused for a moment. “No, I’m just a regular guy.” “But you have a gun, don’t you?” “Having a gun doesn’t make you a hero.” “Then why do you have one?” The girl’s mother pulled her closer and away from him. There was silence after that. Finally, they went down an alley and emerged at a wide platform. The evacuation site was a Pelican landing pad. A tent on the edge of the circular pad was rigged up, and Shields headed for it. The rest of them looked out to where a portion of the concrete was scorched and glassy. No wonder there was no one here. “Evac station two-three to fleet.” Shields was saying into a radio in the shelter. “Any UNSC ship reading me? We have a small group of marines and civilians needing evac.” It buzzed for a moment, then a response came through. “Evac station, this is Pelican Alpha Five-Seven. We’re en route, stay put, over.” John finally found himself able to smile. They were going to survive. It was then that he heard the high pitched voice. “Get ‘em!” Green plasma shot by the humans on the platform, a few bolts burning into Private Clark’s leg. The marine cried out in pain and fell clutching the wounds as a trio of Grunts came into sight. The woman screamed and ran, John close behind. As she ducked behind a slab of stone fallen from one of the buildings, John kept running off the platform and behind an overturned van. Shields dropped the radio and ducked into cover, readying his MA5C. Grunts didn’t travel alone, there would be an Elite with them. He popped up and fired at the little aliens, and took stock of the situation as they retreated. The woman and her daughter were in cover, and there was no sign of the mall cop. Clark was crawling off the far side of the platform, clutching a leg. Shields reloaded the rifle, then vaulted the sandbags of the shelter and sprinted across. One of the Grunts took a few potshots at him, but they missed cleanly as Shields returned fire and brought him down. Making it to Clark, Shields grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him into an alleyway, sweeping behind him with the MA5C ready to make sure they weren’t being closed in on. “Hey, it bad?” he asked, propping him up against a building wall. “Just a flesh wound. Stings like no tomorrow, though.” “Alright, lets get you up.” Shields helped him to his feet, and broke for the shelter. John was just the way he had been hours ago. Cowering in cover as a monster, in this case a decloaked Elite, was attacking innocent people. The little girl was about to die. He forced his eyes open and peered around the truck, cautiously taking a quick look out. The woman was holding her daughter close, ducked behind the rubble. The massive Covenant Elite was melting away their cover with a plasma rifle, gurgling what could only be laughter. The marines were nowhere in sight. John rolled into hiding again, breathing heavily. They were going to die out there if the soldiers didn’t help them. But they had no way of knowing what was going on. Someone had to do something, someone had to alert them. There was no one. No one but him. The little girl’s words rang in his head. He wasn’t a hero, he was a coward. But if he didn’t be a hero . . . Forsaking his instincts, John stood up and pointed his handgun at the alien and fired, screaming at it. The shots bounced harmlessly off its shields, but the Elite was caught by surprise. Then as more bullets pinged off it, the alien raised its rifle and returned fire. Several burning shots hit him in the chest, and John fell to the ground. Shields heard the screaming and the shots, and looked up to see what was going on. Catching sight of the Elite, he dropped Clark and brought up his assault rifle. Firing at full automatic, he advanced steadily on the beast, keeping the fire focused. Already weakened shielding failed, and lead broke the alien’s skin, purple blood flying out wherever it was hit by a round. The creature toppled over, rifle discharging a few more times before going silent. Wind suddenly kicked up around him, and Shields looked up as a Pelican came in for a landing. Shields ran and helped the woman and child up, and helped them and Clark in as it opened its back hatch. The security guard was missing, though. “Hold on a sec, be right back.” He told the crew chief, and jogged back towards where they had came to the landing pad. Next to an overturned truck, the man lay on his back with the M6A still in his hand. Shields felt for a pulse, but there was none. Shields clenched his teeth in regret, the man had probably saved the civilians’ lives with his yelling. With the ride about to leave, the marine looked him over for dog tags, but there were none. Finding the next best thing, he removed the man’s badge and stuffed it in a pocket. Then, with a final pat on the shoulder, Shields left the body and climbed aboard the Pelican, just as it took off.